Changes at European Commission see Pharma under control of Health and Consumer policy portfolio

Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, has announced the portfolios responsibilities for the next Commission, among which he has decided to follow recommendations from the public health community in terms of transfer of pharmaceutical policy from the portfolio of the Entreprise and Industry Commissioner to that of the Health and Consumer, DG Sanco.

John Dalli, now Minister for Social Policy in Malta, will be given almost all-important competencies, in the area of biotechnology in the next European Commission. Re-elected Commission President Barroso has concentrated a huge array of important responsibilities with Mr Dalli who is to lead the DG Sanco. Mr Dalli will take over liability for the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) and a cosmetics unit from DG Enterprise and Industry. The current Maltese Minister will take over all responsibilities for agribiotechnology - together with those relating to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) - from the DG Environment, which will now be led by the former Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik. In addition, Mr Dalli will control the EU's Plant Variety Office, the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC), and will take over from Mr Potocnik's new authority the competencies for consumer protection, together with those for the Executive Agency for Health and Consumers (EAHC).

Mixed industry, consumer reaction

The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) had not responded to the The Pharma Letter's enquiries for a reaction to the news as this issue went live, but it is generally accepted that it will be unwelcome, given the research-based drugmakers' previous lobbying against such a move. In a diplomatic comment to the Brussels-based EuroActive consultancy, the EFPIA did say: "We hope that he will help maintain the existing policy balance between the pharmaceutical industry's dual roles of meeting the health needs of Europe's patients and its significant contribution to Europe's economic well-being through providing a significant positive trade balance high-quality employment and substantial investment in European-based research."

However, the shift of pharma policy to DG Sanco has been welcomed by consumer advocacy groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which have long pointed out that health ministries and departments are responsible for pharmaceuticals in most European Union member states

"We are certain that this governance change puts public interests and the health of Europeans at the center of vital decisions affecting our health. With the responsibility for pharmaceutical and medical devices policies and for the European Medicines Agency too, the Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner is now better equiped to lead a consistent and coherent approach to public health policy and more specifically to ensure protection of patients and safety of medicines throughout the European Union," said Monika Kosinska, secretary general of the European Public Health Alliance. Moreover, "this bold decision by President Barroso demonstrated the power of political leadership and enables the European Commission to fulfill its Treaty responsibility as the guardian of public health, she added.

Other nominations

Among other changes, Pres Barroso has nominated Joaquin Almunia of Spain to take over as Competition Commissioner from the Dutch European Member of Parliament Neelie Kroes, who inspired the 'dawn raids' on several major pharmaceutical companies as part of her crack-down on transparency and competition. Ms Kroes now becomes Commissioner for the Digital Agenda.

Ireland's Maire Geoghegan Quinn has been named to the newly-created innovation portfolio at the EU executive. A frequent criticism of Europe's innovation policy has been that it is dispersed too widely.

Outgoing Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik will take up the environment portfolio in the new year. The job is an expanded version of the old science and research post, and comes just months before the first European Innovation Act is due to be published. The creation of an innovation commissioner has been well flagged, with Pres Barroso having repeatedly pledged to streamline innovation policy.